I. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an assemblage of hydroxyl apatite particles. The assemblage can be used as an efficient packing for liquid chromatography columns.
II. Description of the Prior Art
Hydroxyl apatite is now widely used for packing in liquid chromatography columns for separating biological macromolecules such as proteins and nucleic acids. A conventional hydroxyl apatite packing for liquid chromatography is manufactured by finely pulverizing plate-like crystals of hydroxyl apatite which is usually manufactured by a so called hydrothermal synthesis process in which calcium hydrogenphosphate is hydrolyzed at, for example, 200.degree. C. and under a pressure of, for example, 15 atms.
The particle size of a conventional assemblage of hydroxyl apatite particles used for liquid chromatography column packing is not very uniform, and the average particle size is large. Thus, the separation efficiency of the liquid chromatography is not satisfactory. Further, since the crystals of the hydroxyl apatite particles have a plate-like shape, the efficiency of the chromatography varies depending on the packing method of the hydroxyl apatite particles and on the operation parameters of the liquid employed.